Did “Feng Shui” raise a generation of bagua-fearing Filipinos?
This was what some Twitter users observed after Netflix made the 2000s horror cult favorite available for streaming in the Philippines.
The Star Cinema film debuted the “restored version” of the 2004 movie starring Kris Aquino on the streaming platform last week.
It is directed by Chito Roño, then known for remaking the Filipino horror classic “Patayin sa Sindak si Barbara” in 1995.
“Feng Shui” centers around a woman named Joy Ramirez (Kris) who acquires a mysterious bagua mirror and begins to experience good things in her life—with a price.
While Joy finds luck, a string of misfortunes plagues the people around her, eventually reaching her own family.
The movie’s critical and commercial success earned Kris the label “Box Office Horror Queen” as she followed up the acclaim by appearing in more films of the same genre such as “Sukob,” “Dalaw,” “Segunda Mano” and “Feng Shui 2.”
“Feng Shui” was also widely promoted with the following eerie chant heard on its trailer before:
May inuwi si nanay, si nanay sa bahay. Sinabit niya, sinabit niya sa pader ng bahay. May inuwi si nanay, si nanay sa bahay, may inuwi si nanay, si nanay sa bahay. Pinasok niya sa bahay
Meanwhile, as the horror movie dropped on Netflix Philippines 18 years after its release, it spurred discussions on social media as Pinoys remembered how the screamer made them feel when they watched it as a child.
Ang inuwi ni nanay sa bahay… nasa Netflix na 🤫 Feng Shui is now streaming! pic.twitter.com/noA6YYK1cu
— Netflix Philippines (@Netflix_PH) October 15, 2022
Among the things that were talked about was the bagua mirror and how it affected them beyond the movie.
“Random TMI: I still can’t look at any bagua because of Feng Shui,” a Twitter user said in response to posts about the horror movie. “TMI” is short for “too much information.”
“We had bagua in our home back then, [though] we’re not even Chinese, but Feng Shui film made [me] scared of it, bye,” another online user wrote.
“Yes!! Feng Shui is still the best!! [Traumatized pa rin] sa Bagua until now lol,” a different Pinoy said.
“You know ‘Feng Shui’ is that b*tch when [you] still avoid looking at [a] bagua until now,” another Twitter user commented.
The Facebook account of Netflix Philippines also acknowledged the fear by sharing a clip from the movie with the caption: “Ngl, takot pa rin ako sa bagua.”
“NGL” is short for “not gonna lie.”
A bagua or a bagua mirror refers to an eight-sided hexagram with a mirror in the center used in the Chinese art of feng shui, an ancient practice where a structure or site is configured to harmonize with the spiritual forces that inhabit it.
The term literally means “wind” (feng) and “water” (shui).
The concept was derived from an ancient Chinese poem that talks about human life being connected to and flowing with the environment around it
In the movie, the bagua becomes a crucial instrument that ignited the events in Kris’ character’s life. It also shaped the story.
In Chinese culture, a bagua is believed to absorb wealth, bring good luck, expel evil spirits and ward off negative energy. It is also known as the “feng shui mascot” in China.
Baguas are generally used in exterior feng shui arrangements to block off the negative energies outside one’s home.
